Contact-Level Marketing: Transform Your ABM Strategy with Individual-Based Targeting

Account-based marketing transformed B2B by shifting focus from broad audiences to specific target accounts. But there's a problem: accounts don't make decisions—people do. That's where contact-level marketing comes in, taking ABM to its logical conclusion by targeting the actual individuals within those accounts.

If your ABM campaigns feel like you're marketing to faceless companies rather than real decision-makers, contact-level marketing offers the precision you need. This approach identifies and engages specific stakeholders—the CFO, CTO, procurement director, and other buying committee members—with personalized messaging tailored to each person's role, priorities, and stage in the buying journey.

This guide is part of our comprehensive series on Person-Based Marketing. Here, we focus specifically on how contact-level approaches enhance and transform your existing ABM programs.

What is Contact-Level Marketing?

Contact-level marketing (also called individual-based marketing) is a B2B strategy that identifies, targets, and engages specific named individuals within target accounts using verified identity data. Rather than treating accounts as monolithic entities, this approach recognizes that 5-12 different people typically influence B2B purchasing decisions—each with unique motivations, concerns, and information needs.

Contact-Level Marketing vs. Account-Based Marketing

While related, these approaches differ in crucial ways:

Traditional ABM:

• Targets companies/accounts

• Broad messaging aimed at "the account"

• Success measured by account engagement

• May miss key individual stakeholders

• Limited personalization beyond company level

Contact-Level Marketing:

• Targets specific individuals within accounts

• Personalized messaging for each stakeholder

• Success measured by individual engagement

• Ensures all decision-makers are reached

• True one-to-one personalization

Think of it this way: ABM tells you to focus on Acme Corporation. Contact-level marketing tells you to engage Sarah (VP of Marketing), Tom (Director of IT), Jennifer (CFO), and Mike (Head of Operations) with messages tailored to each person's specific role and concerns.

Why Contact-Level Marketing Enhances ABM Campaigns

The shift from account-level to contact-level thinking delivers measurable improvements:

Reach the Full Buying Committee

Research shows B2B purchases involve 5-12 stakeholders on average, yet most ABM campaigns engage only 2-3 people per account. Contact-level marketing ensures you identify and reach all key players, not just the most visible ones.

Common Missed Stakeholders:

• CFOs and financial decision-makers (often invisible until late in the process)

• Technical evaluators who assess capabilities

• End users who will actually use your solution

• Procurement professionals who negotiate terms

• Executive sponsors who provide final approval

By mapping and engaging the complete buying committee, you avoid the situation where one unconvinced stakeholder derails an otherwise promising deal.

Deliver True Personalization

Account-level messaging can reference company news, industry trends, or common challenges. Contact-level marketing goes further, addressing:

• Role-specific pain points: The CFO cares about ROI; the CTO cares about technical architecture

• Individual priorities: What keeps this specific person up at night?

• Stage-appropriate content: Where is each individual in their personal awareness journey?

• Communication preferences: Some prefer detailed whitepapers; others want brief video summaries

This level of personalization drives engagement rates 3-5X higher than generic account messaging.

Accelerate Deal Velocity

Traditional ABM often engages stakeholders sequentially—you warm up one person, they introduce you to another, who eventually connects you to the decision-maker. This takes time.

Contact-level marketing enables parallel engagement. You simultaneously warm up the entire buying committee, so when sales begins outreach, multiple stakeholders are already familiar with your brand and receptive to conversations.

Companies implementing contact-level strategies report 30-40% faster time from first touch to closed deal.

Improve Attribution and Measurement

When you track engagement at the individual level, attribution becomes crystal clear. You know exactly which people engaged with which content, when they became qualified, and how they contributed to the ultimate deal.

This visibility enables data-driven optimization impossible with account-level tracking alone.

The Contact-Level Marketing Framework: Step-by-Step

Implementing contact-level marketing requires a systematic approach. Follow this proven framework:

Phase 1: Account Selection and Prioritization

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Go beyond basic firmographics. Analyze your best customers:

• What specific challenges triggered their search?

• What alternatives did they consider?

• What drove their final decision?

• How long was their buying process?

• Who was involved in the decision?

Step 2: Build Your Target Account List

Identify 50-200 accounts matching your ICP (adjust based on deal size and sales capacity). Segment into tiers:

Tier 1: Highest-value accounts (top 10-25) receiving white-glove treatment Tier 2: Important accounts (next 25-75) with personalized but scalable approaches Tier 3: Qualified accounts (remaining 50-100) with efficient, programmatic engagement

Step 3: Prioritize Based on Intent and Fit

Layer intent signals onto your account list:

• Website visits and content consumption

• Third-party intent data (Bombora, G2, etc.)

• Recent funding or leadership changes

• Technology stack changes (for SaaS companies)

• Industry events or initiatives

Phase 2: Buying Committee Identification

This is where contact-level marketing diverges from traditional ABM.

Step 4: Map Buying Committee Roles

For each target account, identify individuals in these roles:

Economic Buyer The person with budget authority who signs the contract. Often a VP or C-level executive. They care about business outcomes, ROI, and strategic alignment.

Technical Buyer Evaluates whether your solution meets technical requirements. Typically an IT leader, engineer, or technical architect. They care about capabilities, integrations, security, and reliability.

Champion An internal advocate who believes in your solution and sells it internally. May be at any level but has influence and enthusiasm. They care about solving their team's problems and looking good to leadership.

Influencer Provides input and opinions that sway the decision without direct authority. May include department heads, senior team members, or consultants. They care about how the solution affects their area.

End User Will actually use your product day-to-day. Their buy-in affects adoption success. They care about ease of use, time savings, and job impact.

Blocker May oppose your solution due to competing priorities, existing vendor relationships, or perceived risk. They care about maintaining status quo or alternative approaches.

Step 5: Research and Verify Individuals

Use these sources to find contact information:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Search by company, title, and seniority Company websites: Team pages, press releases, executive bios ZoomInfo/Clearbit/Cognism: B2B contact databases Industry publications: Bylines, conference speakers, quotes in articles Network connections: Introductions from existing relationships

For high-value Tier 1 accounts, invest time in thorough research. For Tier 3, leverage data enrichment tools for efficiency.

Hey Sid's Advantage: Hey Sid's contact enrichment technology automates much of this process, automatically identifying key decision-makers at your target accounts and providing critical information like names, titles, email addresses, and phone numbers. This data seamlessly exports to your CRM, dramatically reducing manual research time while ensuring data accuracy.

Step 6: Enrich and Organize Data

For each identified individual, gather:

• Full name and verified email address

• Job title and department

• Role in buying committee (economic buyer, champion, etc.)

• LinkedIn profile URL

• Professional interests and content they share

• Recent career history and tenure

• Technologies they use or discuss

Store this in your CRM with appropriate tagging for segmentation.

Phase 3: Persona Development and Messaging

Step 7: Create Detailed Buyer Personas

Develop persona profiles for each role across your target accounts:

CFO/Financial Buyer Persona:

• Primary Concerns: ROI, total cost of ownership, budget impact, financial risk

• Success Metrics: Cost reduction, revenue growth, margin improvement

• Content Preferences: ROI calculators, analyst reports, customer case studies with numbers

• Common Objections: "Too expensive," "Unproven ROI," "Budget allocated elsewhere"

CTO/Technical Buyer Persona:

• Primary Concerns: Technical capabilities, integration complexity, security, scalability

• Success Metrics: System reliability, performance, ease of integration

• Content Preferences: Technical documentation, architecture diagrams, security whitepapers

• Common Objections: "Won't integrate with our stack," "Security concerns," "Technical limitations"

VP Operations/Business Buyer Persona:

• Primary Concerns: Implementation timeline, team disruption, adoption success

• Success Metrics: Efficiency gains, process improvement, team productivity

• Content Preferences: Implementation guides, change management resources, workflow demos

• Common Objections: "Implementation too disruptive," "Team won't adopt," "Timing is bad"

Step 8: Develop Role-Specific Messaging

Create messaging frameworks for each persona:

Awareness Stage: Educational content about industry challenges and trends

• CFO: "The Hidden Costs of [Current Approach]"

• CTO: "Technical Debt: Why [Status Quo] Doesn't Scale"

• VP Ops: "5 Operational Bottlenecks Slowing Your Team"

Consideration Stage: Solution education and comparison frameworks

• CFO: "ROI Framework: Calculating True Value of [Solution Category]"

• CTO: "Technical Comparison: [Your Approach] vs. [Alternative Approaches]"

• VP Ops: "Implementation Roadmap: From Decision to Value Realization"

Decision Stage: Proof points and risk mitigation

• CFO: "Customer Case Study: [Similar Company] Achieved [X% ROI]"

• CTO: "Security and Compliance: How [Your Company] Protects Your Data"

• VP Ops: "Change Management: Ensuring Rapid Team Adoption"

Phase 4: Multi-Channel Campaign Execution

Step 9: Launch Contact-Level Advertising

Upload your contact lists to advertising platforms:

LinkedIn Sponsored Content:

• Upload email addresses via Matched Audiences

• Create role-specific ad variations

• Set frequency caps (3-5 impressions per week per person)

• A/B test messaging and creative

Google Customer Match:

• Upload lists to reach contacts on Google Display, Search, YouTube

• Broader reach than LinkedIn at lower cost

• Good for staying visible during research phases

• Retarget website visitors with personalized messages

Programmatic Display (via Hey Sid or similar):

• Reach contacts across thousands of websites

• Deliver consistent messaging across channels

• Advanced frequency management

• Integration with CRM for engagement tracking

Step 10: Coordinate Email and Social Engagement

Advertising works best as part of a multi-channel approach:

Email Nurture Sequences: Design parallel nurture tracks for different personas. The CFO receives financial-focused emails; the CTO receives technical content.

LinkedIn Organic Engagement: Have your team members connect with and engage target individuals:

• Thoughtful comments on their posts

• Sharing relevant industry content

• Personalizing connection requests

• Direct messaging (not sales pitches)

Hey Sid's Authority Builder takes this further by amplifying your team's organic LinkedIn content to target audiences. This positions your executives and team members strategically in front of all your prospects, building thought leadership and personal brands that complement paid campaigns—creating a unified presence that feels authentic rather than purely promotional.

Content Syndication: Distribute valuable content through channels where target individuals consume information:

• Industry publications they read

• Professional communities they participate in

• Events they attend (virtual or in-person)

Step 11: Enable Sales with Contact Intelligence

Provide sales with actionable insights:

Engagement Dashboards: Show which individuals at each account have engaged, what content they consumed, and their likely stage in the buying journey.

Hey Sid's real-time dashboard delivers this automatically, tracking impressions and clicks at both company and individual levels. The platform's website IP tracking feature provides account-level insights into how prospects are engaging with your site—showing which companies are visiting, what they're interested in, and when they're most engaged. This enables perfectly timed, highly informed sales outreach.

Outreach Recommendations: Identify warm contacts ready for sales conversations based on engagement thresholds.

Conversation Starters: Give sales specific talking points based on content each person engaged with.

Coordination Tools: Ensure sales knows when marketing campaigns are active so outreach is timed appropriately.

Phase 5: Measurement and Optimization

Step 12: Track Contact-Level Metrics

Monitor these KPIs by individual and account:

Reach Metrics:

• Number of buying committee members identified per account

• Percentage successfully matched on advertising platforms

• Individuals reached across multiple channels

Engagement Metrics:

• Percentage of reached individuals who engage

• Average content pieces consumed per person

• Engagement depth by role and persona

• Cross-channel engagement patterns

Pipeline Metrics:

• Marketing-qualified contacts (individuals meeting engagement thresholds)

• Account penetration (% of buying committee engaged)

• Time from first touch to sales acceptance

• Pipeline value influenced

Revenue Metrics:

• Closed deals with contact-level engagement

• Deal size correlation with buying committee penetration

• Win rate by number of stakeholders engaged

• Sales cycle length impact

Step 13: Optimize Based on Performance

Use insights to improve:

High-Performing Segments: Identify which personas, industries, or company sizes engage most. Double down on what works.

Message Testing: Continuously test different value propositions, content formats, and calls to action. Refresh creative monthly.

Channel Mix: Analyze which channels drive engagement for different personas. Allocate budget accordingly.

Buying Committee Completeness: Deals with 60%+ buying committee engagement close faster and at higher rates. Focus on complete coverage.

Advanced Contact-Level Marketing Strategies

Once fundamentals are solid, implement these advanced tactics:

Strategy 1: Sequential Multi-Stakeholder Campaigns

Rather than targeting all buying committee members simultaneously, stage engagement strategically:

Weeks 1-3: Engage champions and influencers

• Build awareness and advocacy among those most likely to champion internally

• Provide ammunition for them to sell the idea internally

Weeks 4-6: Expand to technical buyers

• Address technical concerns and requirements

• Provide detailed capability information

Weeks 7-9: Engage economic buyers

• Target C-level and VP stakeholders

• Focus on business outcomes and ROI

This staged approach builds momentum from the ground up.

Strategy 2: Intent-Triggered Acceleration

Combine contact-level targeting with real-time intent signals:

High-Intent Actions: When individuals demonstrate strong buying signals:

• Download bottom-funnel content (pricing guides, comparison sheets)

• Visit competitor comparison pages

• Spend 10+ minutes on your website

• Attend product demos or webinars

Automated Responses:

• Immediately increase ad frequency to that person

• Serve more aggressive CTAs (demo requests, consultation offers)

• Trigger sales notification for personalized outreach

• Send personalized follow-up email from relevant executive

Strategy 3: Dark Social and Community Building

Not all contact-level engagement happens through paid channels:

Private LinkedIn Groups: Create exclusive communities for specific personas or industries. Invite target individuals to join, participate, and network.

Executive Roundtables: Host intimate dinners or virtual discussions for C-level decision-makers, creating relationship-building opportunities beyond traditional marketing.

Peer Networks: Facilitate connections between your customers and prospects in similar roles, enabling peer-to-peer education.

Members-Only Content: Create gated content hubs requiring authentication, allowing deeper tracking of individual engagement while providing genuine value.

Strategy 4: Account-Based Retargeting at Contact Level

Layer behavioral signals onto contact-level lists:

Website Visitor Retargeting: When target individuals visit your website:

• Serve follow-up ads acknowledging their interest

• Personalize based on pages viewed

• Offer relevant next-step content

Event Engagement Retargeting: After target contacts attend your events:

• Continue the conversation with key takeaways

• Provide recordings and supplementary materials

• Offer one-on-one follow-up sessions

Content Consumption Retargeting: When contacts consume specific content:

• Serve related content to deepen engagement

• Progress from educational to evaluative materials

• Include relevant case studies and proof points

Strategy 5: Negative Targeting and Suppression

Contact-level precision enables smart exclusions:

Existing Customers: Suppress customers from acquisition campaigns (or target with expansion/upsell messaging separately).

Recently Converted: Exclude individuals who recently booked demos or started trials from awareness campaigns.

Disqualified Contacts: Remove people from industries you don't serve, companies too small/large, or those in geographic regions you don't support.

Competitors: Suppress employees from competitor companies to avoid wasted spend.

Contact-Level Marketing Technology Stack

Successful contact-level marketing requires integrated technology:

Core Components

CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics): Single source of truth for contact data, engagement history, and opportunity tracking.

Data Enrichment (ZoomInfo, Clearbit, Cognism): Find and verify contact information, append firmographic and demographic data.

Person-Based Advertising Platform: Execute contact-level advertising across LinkedIn, Google, and programmatic networks.

Best-in-Class Solution: Hey Sid provides the most comprehensive contact-level marketing technology in a single platform. Rather than stitching together multiple point solutions, Hey Sid unifies person-based advertising, contact enrichment, website IP tracking, real-time dashboards, and authority building. This integration eliminates data silos, reduces implementation complexity, and ensures all systems work together seamlessly. The fully managed approach means you get enterprise-grade technology without needing a team of specialists to operate it.

Marketing Automation (Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua): Coordinate email nurture, lead scoring, and campaign orchestration.

Intent Data (Bombora, 6sense, G2): Identify accounts and individuals showing buying signals.

Analytics (Google Analytics, Tableau, Looker): Track and visualize performance across channels and campaigns.

Integration Requirements

Your stack must enable:

• Bidirectional data flow between CRM and advertising platforms

• Real-time engagement data sync for sales visibility

• Unified reporting across channels

• Automated workflow triggers based on engagement

• Single view of individual engagement across all touchpoints

Common Contact-Level Marketing Mistakes

Avoid these pitfalls:

Mistake 1: Incomplete Buying Committee Mapping

Targeting only obvious roles (CEO, VP) while missing crucial stakeholders leads to incomplete engagement and stalled deals.

Solution: Invest time in thorough buying committee research. For Tier 1 accounts, identify 8-12 individuals across all relevant roles.

Mistake 2: Persona Messaging That Isn't Actually Different

Creating "persona-specific" content that's basically the same message with minor word swaps defeats the purpose.

Solution: Develop genuinely different value propositions for each role. The CFO and CTO should receive fundamentally different messaging, not variations of the same pitch.

Mistake 3: Lack of Sales-Marketing Coordination

Running contact-level marketing campaigns without informing sales creates confusion and missed opportunities.

Solution: Establish regular sales-marketing sync meetings. Share target account lists, engagement data, and coordinate outreach timing.

Mistake 4: Insufficient Frequency

Expecting results from 1-2 ad impressions per person underestimates the time required for B2B engagement.

Solution: Plan for 10-15 touchpoints per individual over 8-12 weeks across multiple channels.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to Refresh Creative

Running identical ads for months leads to ad fatigue and declining performance.

Solution: Refresh creative and messaging every 4-6 weeks. Test new angles, formats, and value propositions continuously.

Measuring Contact-Level Marketing ROI

Demonstrate value with these metrics:

Leading Indicators (Measured Monthly)

• Contact coverage: Average buying committee members identified per account

• Reach rate: Percentage of identified contacts successfully engaged

• Engagement rate: Individuals actively interacting with content

• Account penetration: Average % of buying committee engaged per account

Pipeline Indicators (Measured Quarterly)

• Marketing-qualified contacts (MQCs) generated

• Accounts with 50%+ buying committee engagement

• Pipeline influenced (opportunities with contact engagement)

• Pipeline velocity (days from first touch to opportunity)

Revenue Outcomes (Measured Annually)

• Closed revenue from influenced opportunities

• Win rate comparison (engaged vs. non-engaged accounts)

• Average deal size impact

• Sales cycle length impact

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

The Future of Contact-Level Marketing

Several trends will shape evolution:

AI-Powered Buying Committee Prediction: Machine learning models will analyze millions of transactions to predict buying committee composition, reducing manual research.

Real-Time Personalization: Dynamic creative optimization will serve each individual the most relevant message variant based on real-time signals.

Conversational Marketing: Interactive ad formats will enable direct dialogue, with AI chatbots answering questions and qualifying intent.

Privacy-Preserving Technologies: Innovations like federated learning will enable personalization while protecting individual privacy.

Predictive Engagement Scoring: AI will predict which specific individuals are most likely to influence deal outcomes, optimizing budget allocation.

Conclusion: Contact-Level Marketing as Competitive Advantage

The shift from account-based to contact-level marketing represents the natural evolution of B2B strategy. As buying committees grow larger and more complex, the companies that can identify, engage, and influence each individual stakeholder will win.

Contact-level marketing transforms ABM from a company-focused strategy to a people-focused one—recognizing that real humans with specific needs, concerns, and motivations drive every B2B decision.

The organizations seeing greatest success share common practices:

• They invest in thorough buying committee research

• They create genuinely differentiated persona messaging

• They coordinate engagement across multiple channels

• They align marketing and sales around individual contacts

• They measure success at the person level, not just account level

Whether you're enhancing an existing ABM program or building contact-level capabilities from scratch, the opportunity is clear: by focusing on real people rather than abstract accounts, you can accelerate deals, improve win rates, and drive more predictable revenue growth.

Continue Learning

Explore our other resources to build your complete person-based marketing capability:

- Person-Based Marketing: The Complete Guide – The foundational strategy guide covering all aspects of person-based marketing

- Contact-Level Advertising: How to Target Individual Decision-Makers – Deep dive into paid media execution

- Best Person-Based Marketing Platforms Comparison – Evaluate and select the right technology

Ready to Implement Contact-Level Marketing?

Hey Sid specializes in helping B2B companies transition from account-based to contact-level marketing. We handle buying committee research, data enrichment, persona development, multi-channel campaign execution, and ongoing optimization.

Book a strategy session to discover how contact-level marketing can transform your ABM results.